The Psalms • Part IIBrian D. Russell

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C O N T E N TS

Welcome to OneBook Daily-Weekly ix

Week One Book II: Finding Hope in the Psalms of Korah 1Day One: Welcome to Books II and III of the Psalter 1Day Two: Psalm 42 3Day Three: Psalm 43 5Day Four: Psalm 44 6Day Five: Psalm 45 9Week One: Gathering Discussion Outline 12

Week Two Book II: Finding Security in the Psalms of Korah and Asaph 14Day One: Psalm 46 14Day Two: Psalm 47 16Day Three: Psalm 48 18Day Four: Psalm 49 20Day Five: Psalm 50 22Week Two: Gathering Discussion Outline 25

Week Three Book II: Psalms of David (Prayers for the Valley, Part I) 27Day One: Psalm 51:1–2 27Day Two: Psalm 51:3–19 28Day Three: Psalm 52 31

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Day Four: Psalm 53 33Day Five: Psalm 54 35Week Three: Gathering Discussion Outline 37

Week Four Book II: Psalms of David (Prayers for the Valley, Part II) 39Day One: Psalm 55 39Day Two: Psalm 56 41Day Three: Psalm 57 43Day Four: Psalm 59 45Day Five: Psalm 60 47Week Four: Gathering Discussion Outline 50

Week Five Book II: Psalms of David (Praise and Thanksgiving) 52Day One: Psalm 63 52Day Two: Psalm 65 54Day Three: Psalm 66 56Day Four: Psalm 67 58Day Five: Psalm 72 60Week Five: Gathering Discussion Outline 63

Week Six Book III: Trials and Transformation in the Psalms of Asaph 65Day One: Psalm 73:1–12 65Day Two: Psalm 73:13–17 67Day Three: Psalm 73:18–28 68Day Four: Psalm 77:1–12 70Day Five: Psalm 77:13–20 72Week Six: Gathering Discussion Outline 75

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Week Seven Book III: Resources for Facing Catastrophe in the Songs of Asaph and Korah 77Day One: Psalm 82 77Day Two: Psalm 83 79Day Three: Psalm 84 81Day Four: Psalm 85 83Day Five: Psalm 87 85Week Seven: Gathering Discussion Outline 87

Week Eight Book III: The Desperation and Destiny of God’s People 89Day One: Psalm 88:1–5 89Day Two: Psalm 88: 6–18 91Day Three: Psalm 89:1–4 93Day Four: Psalm 89:38–52 95Day Five: Concluding Reflections 97Week Eight: Gathering Discussion Outline 99

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Book II: Finding Hope in the Psalms of Korah

O N E

Welcome to Books II and III of the Psalter

Key Observation. Books II and III of Psalms point us away from human rulers to focus on trust in the Lord alone.

Understanding the Word. Welcome to our journey through Book II (Pss. 42–72) and Book III (Pss. 73–89). Books II and III of Psalms serve a key function within the whole. In OneBook Daily-Weekly The Psalms—Part I, we observed the overall movement of the book by beginning with a study of the Psalter’s introduction (Pss. 1–2) and conclusion (Pss. 146–150). The Psalter opens by grounding God’s people in faithfulness through meditation on Scripture (Ps. 1) and ultimate security through God’s reign over the nations through the Messiah (Ps. 2). The Psalter’s climax (146–150) is a celebration of God’s victory in which all creation joins together to praise the Lord.

In Psalms 3–145, life happens. The Psalter serves as our prayer book as God’s missional people. God calls us to live as his hands, feet, and mouthpieces in the world. As people seeking to embody the gospel, we are God’s witnesses to a world that does not yet know or worship the Lord. Given this reality, life brings challenges. Sometimes these challenges are our own doing because of unfaithfulness. Other times, God’s people find themselves in seasons of chaos through the evil intentions of enemies, bouts with illness, or catastrophic events. In all circumstances, the book of Psalms awaits our careful reading. As

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Scripture, its words give us a voice to praise the Lord and to cry out for God’s salvation. Through the Psalter’s pages we will encounter a language of faith that can sustain us in our journey.

In Book I, we encountered a mix of cries for help (laments); anchoring psalms that reminded God’s people of the importance of Scripture and instruction (Torah psalms); rich praises for who God is (praise); expressions of gratitude for answers to prayer (thanksgiving); hymns about God’s Messiah (royal psalms); and affirmations of deep trust (psalms of trust).

Books II and III reveal that the final compilers of the Psalms showed careful thought in how they arranged the whole. If Book I mostly contains psalms bearing a heading that includes the phrase “Of David,” it is striking that Books II and III introduce two new phrases in their headings: “Of Asaph” and “Of the Sons of Korah.” Asaph and Korah were both important Levitical priests, and their families served as singers and liturgists in the temple. If we step back and just observe these headings, we find that Books II and III are organized by them. Notice how the blocks of psalms linked to Korah and Asaph form bookends around the central block of Davidic material in Psalms 51–72 and Psalm 86:

Psalms 42–49: KorahPsalm 50: AsaphPsalms 51–72: DavidPsalms 73–83: AsaphPsalms 84–85: KorahPsalm 86: DavidPsalms 87–88: Korah

This places the focus in these books on Israel’s trust in God’s reign through King David and his descendants. Yet we will find that this trust created a crisis of faith. In the Davidic psalms, the king was under constant stress. Moreover, in Book III, there will be a national crisis of faith in light of the exile to Babylon. These psalms will invite God’s people to find security in God alone.

1. Reflect on your life. In whom or in what do you find true security?

2. What is your present sense of your journey of faith in Jesus?

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T W O

Psalm 42Psalm 42 (esv) As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. 2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? 3My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” 4These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.

5Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation 6and my God. My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. 7Deep calls to deep at the roar of your water-falls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. 8By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. 9I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” 10As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”

11Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Key Observation. Putting our hope in the living God is foundational for the life of faith.

Understanding the Word. Book II of the Psalter opens with a psalm rich in meaning. It captures the essence of the faith that we will discover in Psalms 42–89. It begins with the image of a thirsty deer longing for cool waters of a pristine stream. The psalmist likened this to his soul’s desire for a fresh encounter with God. Psalms 42 and 43 highlight a conversation between the psalmist and his soul.

The psalmist referred to “soul” throughout the prayer (vv. 1, 2, 4–6, and 11). It is important to understand the meaning of the Hebrew word nephesh that is translated “soul.” Too often we equate soul with the spiritual part of ourselves that is separate from our physical body. This is a misunderstanding

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of the biblical concept. When the psalmist talked about soul, he was talking about the whole of himself as a living, breathing person. When the psalmist said, “My soul thirsts for God” (42:2), he was saying that all aspects of his being (mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional) are desperate for God. His words expressed a desire to connect fully with God. He felt separated from God and longed for a time to be in God’s presence.

The psalmist was desperate for God because of taunts from unnamed enemies (v. 3) and because of memories of worship (v. 4). The psalmist recalled moments at the temple when God’s people celebrated the protective care of the Lord. In other words, the psalmist longed for the communal worship of God and the feelings of security that God provides. The absence of this caused the psalmist’s grief and trouble.

In verse 5, we find the chorus that recurs three times within Psalm 42 (vv. 5 and 11) and Psalm 43 (v. 5)—“Why are you cast down, O my soul?” In response to his distress, the psalmist questioned his despair and encouraged himself to place hope in God. This will be a key reminder for God’s people. There will be difficult times personally and communally. But there remains one source of hope: the living God. In the Old Testament, God’s people remembered the God of the exodus; in the New Testament, God’s people focus on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The psalmist built on his hope in the Lord by anticipating future opportunities to praise God for his salvation. A consistent theme in the Psalter is the ability for God’s people to praise God even in the midst of difficult circumstance.

Verses 6–10 provide more details about the psalmist’s plight and prayer. He was geographically far from Jerusalem (v. 6). The mighty roar of the head-waters of the Jordan River reminded the psalmist of his smallness and frailty in the world (v. 7). In response, he confessed his knowledge of God’s ongoing love as well as his recognition that God is the source and grounding of his life (v. 8). On the basis of this relationship, the psalmist cried out to God to act on his behalf against his foes (vv. 9–10).

Psalm 42:11 ends the prayer with the same refrain as in verse 5.

1. What do you desire most in the world? How is this desire similar to or different from the psalmist’s longing for God?

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Book II: Finding Hope in the Psalms of Korah

2. What is your most meaningful worship experience? How did it shape you?

T H R E E

Psalm 43Psalm 43 Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked. 2You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? 3Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. 4Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

5Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Key Observation. We respond to God’s grace with praise and worship.

Understanding the Word. Based on the repetition of a common refrain (42:5, 11, and 43:5), it appears that Psalms 42 and 43 were originally one psalm. Psalm 43 completes the lament begun in Psalm 42. If Psalm 42 focused on the psalmist’s plight, Psalm 43 centers on the psalmist’s cry for help. In Psalm 42, we learned that the psalmist was under the oppression of enemies far from the temple and longed to praise God in the temple with fellow believers.

The psalmist’s lament was bold and daring. Verse 1 is the language of the courtroom. The psalmist asked God to make a summary judgment by affirming his innocence. The psalmist recognized two realities. First, he asserted his innocence. This is a common theme in the Psalms, but can sound arrogant or even naive to our twenty-first-century ears. Second, the psalmist was resolute that God could and should save him. Thus, he begged God to do so.

In verse 2, the psalmist confessed that God is his stronghold (or, refuge in the ESV). This is the grounding for the psalmist’s confidence and hope. But

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God does not seem to be living up to his reputation. Why does it seem as though God has rejected the psalmist and left him oppressed and mourning in the presence of enemies?

The heart of the psalmist is evident in verses 3–4. Obviously the psalmist desired deliverance. But note the purpose of the deliverance. He desired to praise God with the faithful. Therefore, the psalmist called on God to send illumination and faithfulness as guides through the present darkness. First John will later affirm that “God is light” (1:5) and “God is love” (4:8). These are reminders for us as we journey through the world. Regardless of the chal-lenges and the present darkness we may face, God’s core essence remains light and love.

The purpose of the psalmist’s pleadings was to gain him the opportunity to worship God in Jerusalem. The psalmist demonstrated a pious desire to worship God in the place that the Lord chose—Jerusalem. This was a key theme in Psalm 42 as well. Psalms 42–43 hold a high opinion of regular and enthusiastic worship of God by his people. Verse 4 serves both as an indication of the purpose of the psalmist’s deliverance and also a promise by the psalmist to respond to God’s grace and salvation with praise and worship. This is a core value and model for us. God acts—we give thanks and worship.

Psalm 43 ends with the psalmist’s self-talk (see 42:5, 11) to remain dialed into God.

1. What kind of person do we have to become to be able to plead our innocence before God with integrity?

2. What role does worship play in the psalmist’s desire for God?

F O U R

Psalm 44Psalm 44 We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago. 2With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors; you crushed the peoples and made our ances-tors flourish. 3It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm

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bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.

4You are my King and my God, who decrees victories for Jacob. 5Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes. 6I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; 7but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame. 8In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever.

9But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies. 10You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us. 11You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations. 12You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale.

13You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us. 14You have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us. 15I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame 16at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

17All this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you; we had not been false to your covenant. 18Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path. 19But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us over with deep darkness.

20If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god, 21would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart? 22Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. 24Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?

25We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. 26Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love.

Key Observation. During difficult seasons, God’s people must pray confi-dently to the God who has shown his grace and mercy in the past.

Understanding the Word. Psalm 44 is a prayer for help by the entire community. “We” is the subject of many of the lines in this prayer. Communal psalms will become more common as we move deeper into the Psalter. As

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we will soon see, Books II and III of the Psalter begin to focus on a national crisis facing God’s people. Book II opens with two related individual cries for help to God. Psalm 44 moves us beyond the individual to a cry for help by the entire community. Psalm 44 includes a mix of historical reflection on what God has done in the past (vv. 1–8), confusion over God’s inaction in the present (vv. 9–16), the pleading of the innocence of God’s people in keeping covenant (vv. 17–22), and a final plea for help (vv. 23–26).

The psalm opens with the community remembering God’s gracious acts of salvation in the past (vv. 1–8). Specifically for God’s people in the Old Testament, this meant reflection on the exodus from Egypt and the gift of the land of Canaan (vv. 1–2). The psalmist emphasized that these were the actions of God alone (vv. 3–8). God gifted Israel all of the blessings enjoyed by the people of God. Likewise as followers of Jesus, we focus on his life, death, and resurrection as the foundation for our relationship and identity as God’s missional people. These opening lines remind us that we are recipients of God’s kindness and love. How do we respond to God’s graciousness? With praise and thanksgiving (v. 8).

Our psalm takes a surprising turn in verses 9–16. Despite God’s past graciousness, God’s people are presently experiencing humiliation and defeat. Verse 11 is powerful: “You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scat-tered us among the nations.” God’s people suffered the taunting of enemies. In the ancient world, one of the most potent taunts was, “Where is your god?” The enemies of Israel believed that their ability to defeat God’s people showed the Lord’s weakness and ineffectiveness. This heightened the misery of God’s people.

In verses 17–22, God’s people pled their innocence. They had practiced faithfulness and not forgotten their covenant relationship with the Lord (v.  17). They had carefully kept their hearts clean and in tune with God (vv.  18–21). God’s people asserted their innocence both in their external actions and in their thoughts. How then could they be suffering at the hands of their enemies (v. 22)?

As we live together as God’s missional people, we may well face seasons corporately when the world seems against us and God appears absent or unconcerned. Have you ever been there? How do we pray in such times?

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Verses 23–26 model a poignant prayer of desperation for God. God has acted in the past. God’s love is real and is the final force in history. Therefore, even when all may seem lost, we pray confidently to the One who can save us.

1. Reflect on your community of faith’s history with God. How does God’s past work within your congregation serve to encourage you today?

2. How does Psalm 44 serve as a model for praying as a community to God during difficult seasons?

F I V E

Psalm 45Psalm 45 My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

2You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.

3Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty. 4In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds. 5Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet. 6Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. 7You love righteousness and hate wickedness; there-fore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy. 8All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad. 9Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

10Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house. 11Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord. 12The city of Tyre will come with a gift, people of wealth will seek your favor. 13All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is inter-woven with gold. 14In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin

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companions follow her—those brought to be with her. 15Led in with joy and glad-ness, they enter the palace of the king.

16Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land.

17I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

Key Observation. Israel’s Davidic king modeled holiness and led God’s mission in the world.

Understanding the Word. Psalm 45 is a hymn of praise for the wedding of Israel’s king. It celebrates kingship. In the Psalter, songs about the king serve as reminders of security. The king functioned as God’s agent for administering and leading God’s kingdom. The king was God’s anointed one (or messiah). Royal songs also serve as symbols of hope. As Christians, we read the royal psalms in the knowledge that Jesus fulfills the longings of these prayers.

Verse 1 gives us direct insight about the psalm’s author. One of the sons of Korah enjoyed the honor of composing a psalm in the king’s honor. This psalm flows out of the psalmist’s being. As we cultivate praise, gratitude, and prayer through faithful practice, we are able to experience these as a natural outflow of our connection with God.

The remainder of the psalm divides into two sections: verses 2–6 and 7–16, with verse 17 serving as a conclusion. These two sections are bless-ings over the king in two areas: his power to rule over God’s kingdom and his ability to reproduce sons who will rule after him. These two themes flow out of God’s promises to David in 2 Samuel 7:8–16. Israel’s hope is, in part, centered on God’s establishment of David and his descendants as the rulers for God’s people.

In verses 2–6, the psalmist prayed a word of blessing over the power of the king. First, the psalmist praised the king for his appearance. The king appeared in the splendor of battle gear. But the key attribute is not appearance or pure power, but mission. All ancient kingdoms boasted about their kings’ power. This psalm celebrates God’s victories through the king, but notice the language of verse 4. The king modeled virtues that demonstrate God’s holiness: truth, humility, and justice. Israel’s messiah led God’s mission. This was not about defeating enemies for exploitation and conquest, but to defend the mission

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of God’s people to bless the nations by spreading the knowledge of God (see Genesis 12:3; Exodus 19:4–6; cf. 1 Samuel 17:46). It is vital to remember that God was not for his people against the nations but for his people for the sake of the nations.

Second, verse 6 celebrates the eternal security of God’s throne and Davidic rule. In Psalm 89, there is a lament over the loss of Davidic rule during exile (see Week 8), but in the long view of God’s work, it is truth. Jesus embodies and fulfills this vision (see Hebrews 1:8).

The second half of the Psalm (vv. 7–16) celebrates the king’s marriage and sons whom the queen will bear. This speaks of Israel’s historic kings. As Christians, we read this as a symbol for Jesus’ work “in bringing many sons and daughters to glory” (Heb. 2:10).

Verse 17 is a fitting climax. Generations of God’s people will remember the king, and the nations will praise him. This envisions the fulfillment of God’s mission to bless the nations and foreshadows the Psalter’s vision for praise by all living beings (see Psalm 150:6).

1. How is Israel’s vision of its king different from typical understandings of kingship?

2. How does Jesus fulfill Psalm 45’s words?

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Week One

WEEK ONE

GATHERING DISCUSSION OUTLINE

A. Open session in prayer.

B. View video for this week’s reading.

C. What general impressions and thoughts do you have after considering the video and reading the daily writings on these Scriptures? What, specifi-cally, did this week’s psalms teach you about faith, life, and prayer?

D. Discuss selected questions from the daily readings. Always invite class members to share key insights or to raise questions that they found to be the most meaningful.

1. KEY OBSERVATION: Books II and III of the Psalms point us away from human rulers to focus on trust in the Lord alone.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Reflect on your life. In whom or in what do you find true security?

2. KEY OBSERVATION (PSALM 42): Putting our hope in the living God is foundational for the life of faith.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: What do you desire most in the world? How is this desire similar to or different from the psalmist’s longing for God?

3. KEY OBSERVATION (PSALM 43): We respond to God’s grace with praise and worship.

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Book II: Finding Hope in the Psalms of Korah

DISCUSSION QUESTION: What role does worship play in the psalm-ist’s desire for God?

4. KEY OBSERVATION (PSALM 44): During difficult seasons, God’s people must pray confidently to the God who has shown his grace and mercy in the past.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: Reflect on your community of faith’s history with God. How does God’s past work within your congregation serve to encourage you today?

5. KEY OBSERVATION (PSALM 45): Israel’s Davidic king modeled holi-ness and led God’s mission in the world.

DISCUSSION QUESTION: How is Israel’s vision of its king different from typical understandings of kingship?

E. Close session with prayer.